Games

Tennis in the Face for Windows Phone 8, not your typical serve and volley

Games

By George Ponder, Saturday, Mar 2, 2013 at 10:30 am

Tennis in the Face is a fun, unique game for your Windows Phone 8 device. It's a tennis game but not in a traditional sense of things.

You play the role of Pete Pagassi in his quest to save the city from the evil grasp of Explodz. You travel around the city map smashing evil minions with tennis balls and exploding soda cans.

Graphics are great, game play challenging and Tennis in the Face is a nice addition to the Windows Phone gaming library.

Catch a little air with SkateDog

Games

By George Ponder, Friday, Mar 1, 2013 at 4:40 pm

SkateDog is a jumper styled game for your Windows Phone much like Rainbow Rapture and Penguin. You just control a dog on a skateboard instead of a vengeful rainbow or hungry penguin.

With SkateDog you are racing Pluft ET (space alien) to a race for a hamburger. You guide your dog over hill and dale while Pluft races along in his space ship (doesn't seem very fair). Along the way you can collect glasses of soda for a boost of speed and dog treats for bonus points.

SkateDog is a fun game for your Windows Phone and challenging enough to keep you interested in things. I'm not sure it could hold up to marathon gaming sessions but it is a nice game to pass the time with.

Gameloft alters list of upcoming Xbox Windows Phone 8 games. Pray they don’t alter it further.

Games

By Daniel Rubino, Friday, Mar 1, 2013 at 11:45 am

Gameloft seems to have scored a bid deal with Microsoft and their Xbox on Windows Phone games as we’ve seen this iteration of “twelve new games” teaser back in January (and even then it was not new).

Now, the gaming house has posted another video – same music, same style –but two games have been replaced. Instead of Texas Poker for Prizes and Fashion Icon we have Kingdoms & Lords and Six Guns added to the lineup. We’re not sure if that means 14 titles are actually coming (with some maybe exclusive to Nokia) or Gameloft was just unsure of what games they were releasing.

Angry Birds Star Wars Hoth update arrives on Windows Phone 7 hardware

Games

By Rich Edmonds, Friday, Mar 1, 2013 at 11:05 am

At long last those who own a Windows Phone 7 handset will be able to enjoy Angry Birds in a galaxy far, far away. Angry Birds Star Wars has already received an update on Windows Phone 8, but now we're seeing the roll out for version 7, opening up the Hoth system to those who enjoy firing Jedi and Wookies into the air and knocking out pigs.

Nike Kinect+ Training Review: Keeping fit with Xbox 360 and Windows Phone

By Paul Acevedo, Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 at 6:17 pm

While the Kinect’s suitability for gaming is sometimes a subject of debate, nobody can deny that the Xbox 360’s motion peripheral is perfectly matched for workout games. Of all the consoles, only the Xbox 360 with Kinect can track a user’s entire body positioning with any real degree of accuracy. Gamers who aspire to get into better shape without leaving the home have many options thanks to these Kinect workout games.

Microsoft has thrown its hat in with Nike and developer Sumo Digital (makers of the awesome Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing Transformed) to produce the most definitive fitness game to date: Nike+ Kinect Training. We know they’re serious about it because they announced it on-stage at E3 (to a generally Kinect-apathetic crowd) and produced a terrific Windows Phone companion app to go along with it.

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Asphalt 7 multiplayer impressions and low-memory Windows Phone 8 device news

By Paul Acevedo, Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 at 7:15 pm

One look at the comments section of our article announcing the release of Asphalt 7: Heat on Windows Phone 8 will tell you that the game is pretty popular. Hey Microsoft, we told you people wanted decent mobile Xbox games!

Ahem. With that gloating out of the way, we have more tasty Asphalt 7 tidbits to share with you now. Head past the break for a hands-on video, multiplayer walkthrough, and update news!

AlphaJax update misplaces user stats and games - fix on the way

By Paul Acevedo, Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 at 5:06 pm

AlphaJax is quite the popular Xbox game for Windows Phone. Much of that stems from its relatively smooth asynchronous online play, though the game being free certainly helps. Before AlphaJax graduated to Xbox Live status, it was originally a popular indie game. The transition to Xbox Live introduced a few bugs, which we’ve all been hoping would be fixed with a patch.

Good news, bad news time! The first update for AlphaJax has finally arrived. Now for the bad news: the developer recommends that you skip this update. Full details after the break.

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Asphalt 7: Heat races onto Xbox Windows Phone 8 with realtime multiplayer

By Paul Acevedo, Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 at 12:36 pm

While Microsoft and its partners haven’t exactly announced a ton of Xbox games for Windows Phone 8 so far, the same can’t be said for Gameloft. Back in October, the mobile game publishing giant announced a whopping 12 games specifically for Windows Phone 8. These titles rely on the new mobile handsets’ extra horsepower and most would be impossible to port accurately on our beloved Windows Phone 7.

It’s been a long wait, but the first Gameloft Windows Phone 8 game is finally here: Asphalt 7, the arcade-style racing game. That’s right, a non-Angry Birds Windows Phone 8 game! Who’d have dared to imagine such a thing? In case that didn’t knock you right out of your office chair, it even has…. Real-time online multiplayer! I don’t mean asynchronous: this is the for-real deal. Ho-lee crap, I just had to fetch my socks from across the room. And did I mention Asphalt 7 is priced to sell?

Head past the break for details! We'll have a video soon too.

Zuma's Revenge Review: The original Aztec action puzzle game

Games

By Paul Acevedo, Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 at 9:51 am

Casual and hardcore (or ‘core’) games often appeal to one group of players while excluding the other. Aiming at just one slice of the gaming audience is well and good, but the holy grail of game development is bridging the gap by appealing to both audiences. Only one game developer has consistently managed to reach that lofty goal: PopCap. Now owned by EA, PopCap has finally returned to Windows Phone (7 and 8) with a port of its accessible yet challenging puzzle masterpiece Zuma’s Revenge.

As a Nokia exclusive, non-Nokia owners will have to wait six months to play Zuma’s Revenge. Read on to find out why it’s worth the wait.

The Xbox 360 Ultimate Game Sale offers crazy-low Games on Demand prices

By Paul Acevedo, Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 at 2:58 pm

Many console gamers out there are abuzz about the Playstation 4 right now, and an official announcement of the next Xbox probably won’t happen until April. How can Microsoft maintain the Xbox hype? Why, by announcing a big sale of course!

The Ultimate Game Sale starts today and runs through March 4^th. 15 different Games on Demand titles have their prices slashed to $3-5 for the duration of the sale (discount varies by region). There will be daily sales every day too. In fact, three Halo games are on sale for ten bucks apiece today – awesome prices if you’re looking to get into the series.

Read on for more Ultimate Game Sale and Xbox 360 Deal of the Week details!

Battle it out with Great Big War Game for Windows Phone 8

Games

By George Ponder, Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 at 8:42 am

Great Big War Game is a turned based, combat game for your Windows Phone 8 device. The game has four gaming modes and fifty missions in the single player, campaign mode.

Graphics and animations are nice and game play against the computer challenging enough to make Great Big War Game an entertaining stand alone game. All totaled, Great Big War Game is a fantastic addition to our Windows Phone 8 gaming library.

Play GameBoy Advance games on Windows Phone 8 with VBA8

Games

By Paul Acevedo, Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 at 9:41 am

Sometimes it feels like there aren’t enough of certain game types on Windows Phone, such as RPGs and strategy games. Sure, we have a few of each to choose from, but it’s still slim pickings for the avid gamer. You know one portable platform that had an unabashedly great library? The GameBoy Advance, a color portable handheld console released back in the innocent year 2001.

Now ‘m.k’ – the developer of the Snes8x emulator, has brought the excellence of the GBA library to Windows Phone with a new emulator: VBA8. Like Snes8x before it, VBA8 uses the power of Windows Phone 8 (not 7) to accurately recreate a classic gaming experience.

How Microsoft can save Xbox games for Windows Phone: Part 5

By Paul Acevedo, Thursday, Feb 21, 2013 at 3:53 pm

Xbox for Windows Phone is a key selling point for gamers, but the implementation leaves much to be desired. This editorial series has covered a lot of ground so far, including the need for streamlining the Xbox Live certification process, Microsoft’s failure to appreciate the importance of Xbox to Windows Phone, the need for multiplatform game engine support, and the need for better PR and a download code system.

This week we tackle software and online features that Xbox Windows Phone badly needs.

Oh! Today is Angry Birds Seasons day on Windows Phone 7

Games

By Paul Acevedo, Thursday, Feb 21, 2013 at 12:36 pm

Yesterday Rovio surprised us by releasing an Xbox Live version of Angry Birds Seasons for Windows Phone 8. No one ever announced that Seasons would be coming to Windows Phone at all, and it’s not exactly the newest game in the Angry Birds franchise. But considering how many people love Angry Birds, not to mention the frustrating lack of Xbox Windows Phone 8 games, the sudden appearance of Seasons is certainly a good thing.

Still, we naturally wondered if Angry Birds Seasons would also come to Windows Phone 7. Angry Birds Space and Star Wars did so, stripped of their Xbox Live features. And now, just one day after the Xbox Live version, Angry Birds Seasons has arrived on Windows Phone 7 too.

NumberTap now available for Windows 8, sports synchronicity with Windows Phone

By Rich Edmonds, Thursday, Feb 21, 2013 at 11:55 am

NumberTap is a popular game available for Windows Phone. The team behind the title has now released a version for Windows 8, which is now available for download from the Windows Store. The Windows Phone game, which has been listed on Microsoft's mobile platform since 2011, has been updated since released and is highly rated on the store.

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Sony's Playstation 4 announcement and what it means for Microsoft and Xbox

By Paul Acevedo, Thursday, Feb 21, 2013 at 9:15 am

Here at Windows Phone Central, we are focused on Windows Phone and other Microsoft platforms. We also like to keep our eyes on the competition, such as the upcoming HTC One Android smartphone. To that extent, the Xbox 360 and its successor will have a new competing videogame console later this year in the form of the Playstation 4. Last night, Sony officially announced the console, which is due for a holiday 2013 release.

Read on for our impressions of the Playstation 4 and how it will affect Microsoft's next Xbox console!

KooZac Review: Add it up in this unique puzzle game.

Games

By Paul Acevedo, Wednesday, Feb 20, 2013 at 10:24 am

Xbox Windows Phone has absolutely no shortage of puzzle games and physics puzzlers. These types of games are easy to create and easy to port, plus they work well in short play sessions on the go. I don’t blame avid mobile gamers for tiring of puzzlers as a whole, as our platform certainly needs a wider variety of games. Still, puzzle games inarguably have their place on smartphones, so we can’t expect them to stop coming along.

Of course KooZac is a puzzle game, but it’s noteworthy for several reasons. First, it comes Square Enix, the prolific Japanese developer responsible or Final Fantasy and many other mobile RPGs. Square-Enix’s continued support can only be good for Windows Phone. Two: KooZac might look like a standard falling block puzzle game, but it actually plays unlike its brethren thanks to the inclusion of my most bitter enemy: math. Also, Facebook integration!

omgTANGRAM a puzzling puzzle game for your Windows Phone

Games

By George Ponder, Wednesday, Feb 20, 2013 at 8:26 am

If you like puzzle games, you'll like omgTANGRAM. This is a Windows Phone game is a collection of tangram puzzles where you have to fill a wide range of silhouettes that you have to with seven puzzle pieces or tans.

On the surface omgTANGRAM looks like a simple puzzle game but once you dig into things, this Windows Phone game is full of challenges and a nice way to pass the time.

It's time for Angry Birds Seasons on Windows Phone 8

By Paul Acevedo, Wednesday, Feb 20, 2013 at 4:29 am

There isn’t exactly an abundance of Windows Phone 8-specific Xbox Live games out there. Since the launch of Microsoft’s latest mobile OS, we’ve only had two such games to choose from: Angry Birds Space and Angry Birds Star Wars. As we reported last week, more Windows Phone 8 games are coming, but at least a few are mired in certification woes.

We have both good and bad news to share about this week’s Xbox release. The good: it’s a Windows Phone 8 game! It's not even a Nokia exclusive. Depending on who you ask, the identity of the game is the bad news. It’s Angry Birds Seasons. Yes, after all this time, we get another Angry Birds game instead of something different. But hey, history has proven that people love throwing birds at things, so let’s just be glad another mainstream game has come to our growing platform.

iBomber Defense returns to Windows Phone 8 but still crashes lots

Games

By Paul Acevedo, Tuesday, Feb 19, 2013 at 12:02 pm

A while back, Babel Rising was pulled from Windows Phone 8 due to the tiny problem of crashing on start up. It briefly returned to Windows Phone 8 despite still being incompatible. Well, today seems like déjà vu because another partially delisted game is back in semi-working order: the Nokia exclusive tower iBomber Defense from Chillingo and Cobra Mobile.